TANKS Travel Tales - a travelogue.......

Slightly more than two decades after my first visit to Ho Chi Minh City, I finally returned for a second visit when my cruise ship made a port call at nearby Phú Mỹ in August 2023.  Vibrant as usual, the city has certainly grown a lot since my first visit. There are now a lot more large towering office complexes and modern residential homes. More importantly for visitors like myself, delicious food are everywhere. During my short few hours onshore, I managed to dine on my favourite Pho noodles, sight-see, took selfies to commemorate my trip and enjoyed a quick ride through Chinatown on my tour coach. I also visited favourite touristy sites like the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Saigon Central Post Office and the Reunification Palace (a.k.a. Independence Palace, Reunification Convention Hall). Skyscrapers, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2023) Pho, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2023) Pho side dish, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2023) Vietnamese Coffee, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2023)

In my continuing exploration of local places that I had not visited in years, I recently made a trip to good old Chinatown. It is located near the Central Business District, in the southern region of Singapore. Walking through the old streets reminded me that many things remain the same as they were and yet not the same. The heritage buildings are still around, standing tall and proud, reminding us of an era long passed but whose days made us who we are today. But gone are many familiar shops, long closed and shuttered with "For Rent" signs plastered all over their shutters. I have no doubt the 2-plus years of COVID-induced business slowdowns had a lot to do with the disappearances of these once-familiar small businesses. On a positive note, local Authorities had just announced further loosening of travel restrictions as part of the move to living with endemic-COVID. Let's hope the return of international arrivals will help those small businesses still holding out. Thankf...

London, England, United Kingdom The West End is located north of the River Thames and as its name suggests, west of the city of London. Most of London's major tourist attractions and entertainment venues are found here. Watching musicals at the West End can fairly be said to be one of the most common entertainment experiences sought by tourists visiting London. And I was no different. However, I only managed to find the time to watch my first musical at the West End after numerous visits to London; although this was not the first musical I had watched, having attended performances of musicals back in my home city as well as in other cities around the world. But my first time watching a musical in the famous West End was only during my 8th visit to London and that musical was The Lion King . On subsequent visits to London, I caught performances of Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables amongst others. Posters featuring the Les Miserables musical at a West End theatre, London, Eng...

Vacationing....... in your home city's less visited neighbourhoods....... When we think of going on a vacation, it is usually about taking off to some distant destinations. While it is the much accepted idea of an "ideal" vacation, there are times when we couldn't just pack our holiday bags and go off to that far-flung dreamed destination. We are all bound by commitments such as family, work or budgets. So if you only have the luxury of a day or two for a break and are limited by constraints such as family and budget, how do you take a "vacation"? Over the years, I had found myself in similar situations. When budget permits, I typically booked a nice local hotel for a luxurious staycation. In times when budget got a bit tight for me, I just took a day off work and visited local neighbourhoods for walks. Often,  I found that I could enjoy myself just as much as going off on some distant holiday trips. A throw-back to what Singapore was like ...

A very busy January coupled with the Chinese New Year festivities has resulted in me being very late with this article. More than 2 weeks late actually, based on my self-imposed publishing schedule! ;-) The beginning of every calendar year is usually accompanied by the arrival of spring. This is usually the period of of the year when everything seems fresh and promising.  Even in countries where there are no distinct seasons to differentiate the different times of the year, there will almost always still be plenty of festivities to mark each period as the year progresses. In Singapore's busy Chinatown, the period leading up to the Chinese New Year is usually an occasion of colours, celebration, energy and goodies! This year was no different. Based on the Chinese Zodiac Calendar, 2017 is the Year of the Rooster. As the new year was welcomed in joyous bursts of celebrations, the areas around Chinatown were decked out in decorations featuring beautiful lanterns and colourful ...

Note from the Author: This article was originally written in February 2000 based on my first ever visit to Ho Chi Minh City. Many years have passed since and I am quite sure many of the places mentioned herein have changed. The currency exchange rates mentioned in this article were based on the prevailing rates at the time of my visit. The photographs that accompanied this article were taken by myself using 35mm films and scanned into digital format simply because digital photography in the year 2000 was still in its infancy! Thus, I apologize for the relatively "low quality" of these photos. Time flies and it has been 14 years since that visit. This reminds me to make another visit to this awesome city to see for myself how much things have changed since! - Timothy, Sep 2014       Saigon was the former capital of South Vietnam prior to the official reunification of the country in 1976. After reunification, Saigon was renamed as Ho Chi Minh City. Today, Ho Chi Minh C...